The word of the Mainstream Media

Mainstreamed word

Straightjacket bound, witless, enslaved,

Plugged, budded into a formless,

meaningless world, to offer all 

Its fanciful, unholy word,

As the truth strolls by unseen.

In measured tones, past perfect teeth,

From an alphabet of sexes,

A kaleidoscope of faces,

Prepackaged lies fed to hollow,

Unseeking minds and ill-formed hearts.

Finger clicks reveal the echoes 

Of a subtle and false command,

Consistently calling to spread

Division to those near and dear, 

So all will share their hellish fate.

Embrace our word. Reject traces

Of all the truth you’ve ever known.

The music plays, tuneless and coarse,

Inviting each: Step to the dance, 

Come, stagger together to death.

Communist China and Other Liars

There's a lot of public and private lying going on today. This always happens when a crisis arises. When the going gets tough, the incompetent and lazy and self-centered simply lie.

The lies of the self-important are usually designed to deflect attention from their current and past incompetence to the real or imagined mistakes of others. Once the crisis hits, they realize, or others make them realize, that their incompetence either caused or aggravated the crisis. Such knowledge, of course, must be hidden from the public. Hide the truth, identify a suitable scapegoat, and attack it aggressively. The truth, of course, is hard to hide, so this works for only a while. Eventually the truth becomes known. 

Sadly, the self-important, which include many politicians and most of the national media, are the least of our problems. The most dangerous of today's liars are not incompetent; they're simply evil. Perhaps the best example are the Chinese Communists.

The Chinese Communist Party really can't be called a political party because it's the only party permitted in China. Indeed, if you tried to start an actual political party in China, you would surely be arrested and likely imprisoned...if you were lucky. 

It's important to be aware of this, a key identifier of all totalitarian states. No totalitarian government, whether based on ideology or a cult of personality, can tolerate intellectual or political competition since it will always lose the argument. It must reject the very idea of truth, because it never has truth on its side. This is why those on the extremes must always distort history, creating fictional versions that support the ever-expanding structure of lies they want us to accept.

And here we encounter another key identifying trait of all extremist ideologies, whether national socialists like Hitler or international socialists like Lenin: their remarkable capacity for spreading lies. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao, Fidel -- yes, the whole bunch and so many others -- all encouraged telling the lie so long as doing so aided the spread of their ideology. For them the end always justifies the means, any means. 

This might lead you to believe that such extreme ideologues are not unlike most politicians who tell lies so easily when it suits their purposes. Yes, indeed, most politicians lie on occasion, and the longer they've spent in politics, the more comfortable they become with telling the lie. This is why I try to avoid voting for any man or woman who's spent a long career in politics. But communists and other socialists are different from run-of-the-mill politicians. The latter lie occasionally, but the former lie constantly. They must because their failing policies are indefensible.

Communist China's a wonderful case in point. Every agreement, every treaty, every official statement made by the ruling Chinese Communist Party is based on and filled with lies. The lie is present even in the nation's official name: the People's Republic of China. The people have no say in their government which cannot be described, by any definition I'm familiar with, as a republic.

Just look at how the party has handled the virus. When COVID-19 began to spread in Wuhan, the authorities clamped down hard on the doctors who were telling the truth about the budding crisis. Most were arrested because in a socialist state the truth will get you imprisoned. (See this story: Los Angeles Times.)

Now, months later, when the party offers statistics on the spread of the Coronavirus in China, you can be certain the data are intentionally inaccurate. This week we've begun to hear reports of tens of thousands of cremations taking place in Wuhan, where the virus apparently originated, and this despite the "official" death toll of 3,305. (See this story: International Business Times.)

The Communist Party can't completely hide the truth, so it changes the conversation and offers the world a spectacular lie: the United States Army is responsible for introducing the virus into Wuhan Province. 

Interestingly, many politicians and members of the mainstream media accept the Chinese "data" without question and use it to attack their favorite target: the president. In other words, they base their own lies on the lies of those whom they know are lying. Yes, it's all very interesting, and would actually be entertaining were it not so serous and so deadly.

Wisdom in the Midst of Panic

The attack of the Coronavirus has generated some very odd behavior. Of course, the mainstream media absolutely love it. It gives them a perfect, long-term, catastrophic story, one they'll milk for months. And it provides a wonderful opportunity to blame it all on the primary object of their hatred: President Trump. Encouraging panic and pessimism has become their goal and they just can't help themselves. Judging by the behavior of many Americans, it would seem they have been successful.

On Friday I stopped by a local Winn Dixie supermarket here in The Villages, just to pick up a few items. The parking lot was jammed and I had to park 100 yards from the front entrance. I couldn't believe the crowds. The store, too, was jammed. The aisles were filled with people stuffing their shopping carts with anything and everything -- lots of toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, bottled water, zip locks, frozen foods, canned goods... I've never seen anything like it, even before a hurricane. It was all very odd. 

Stockpiling in a Box Store

Fortunately, my shopping list was short -- milk, crackers, cheese, and cheap wine -- so I moved straight to the express checkout line. Although there were about ten people in front of me, the line moved quickly. 

As I neared the checkout counter I noticed the woman standing in line directly behind me. A bleached blonde, she was elderly (older than me anyway) and was shaking her head as she looked at all the shoppers. She then turned to me, laughed aloud, and said, with a bit of a brogue, "Bunch of fools, buying all that toilet paper. In Ireland we couldn't afford it and had to use newspaper and it worked quite well. People in America act like little rich children."

I thought this demanded some kind of response, so I said, "Over here the country folk used to put the huge Sears-Roebuck catalog in the outhouse where I suppose it served the same purpose as your Irish newspapers. Of course in these days of online shopping and empty shopping malls, the old Sears catalog is long gone." Then, as I began to place my few items on the checkout counter, I heard her say, "Too damned bad. You've become a nation of spoiled brats."

Although I certainly appreciate the availability of low-cost toilet paper, I also appreciate her sentiment. We have indeed become a wee bit spoiled and the possibility of doing without any one of our modern conveniences has led many to raid the local supermarkets and box stores. I'd like to think that as a people we could learn from this viral pandemic and draw together as we face a common foe, but it seems we would rather fight each other for the last package of toilet paper. It's all very sad, and doesn't bode well for the future.

There Oughta Be A Law...Not!

Chuck Schumer Ranting

For the past few days, since the start of the new congressional session, our federal legislators of both parties have been racking up the live-shots on TV news. I suppose they just can't help themselves. It probably has something to do with the politically oriented personality, a psyche that seeks and often demands constant attention. (This character trait is why nation-wide term-limits will always be an unattainable goal.) In their defense, though, I'll agree that the media, especially the 24-hour news-focused television media, have provided one of the more effective means of getting a politician's message and face in front of the people. And as agents of the status quo, they can't be expected to try something new.

Donald Trump Cheering

Our president-elect, however, is anything but a friend of the existing order. Thanks to years of media exposure, his face and his voice are almost universally recognized. He need not  introduce himself to the nation; it knows him already. Through his business experience and his unorthodox campaign it would seem he has come to realize several important things: (1) the people don't want another talking head for a president; (2) the media tend to filter what he says through their own political and ideological biases; and (3) keep the message simple, concise and clear. And so, instead of seeking out the TV cameras to communicate, he's chosen to go directly to the people with tweets of 140 characters. Not only do the people like it, but it's also proven to be extremely effective in producing the results he seeks. 

As one might expect, the mainstream media is apoplectic about Mr. Trump's use of Twitter because he's been able to bypass them as he communicates to the nation, thereby threatening their continued relevance. The opposition politicians -- most Democrats and a few Republicans -- join the media in their disdain of his tactics. They rant and rave from the House and Senate floors in hour-long diatribes that nobody listens to. It's all quite remarkable.

One thing I've noticed is the number of these legislators who, in praise of themselves, focus almost entirely on the number of laws they've enacted and of all the new legislation they're just aching to pass. Fortunately, a few of them take an opposing view and are more concerned with the laws they'd like to overturn. The repeal of so-called Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) is at the top of most Republicans' lists, and I certainly have no problem with that. Any law that places the healthcare of the individual in the hands of incompetent government bureaucrats must be repealed. And for most citizens it's proven to be anything but affordable. It is also far too complex and like our tax structure is incomprehensible, not only to the average citizen, but even to the supposed experts. It has to go.

I have come to appreciate Mr. Trump's simple approach to things political. Our founding fathers were of a similar mind when it came to the enactment of laws. Laws, they believed, should be clear and simple so they can be easily understood by the citizen. One cannot obey a law that cannot be understood. And there shouldn't be too many of them. Laws are necessary to prevent societal anarchy, but a constant increase in laws means a constant decrease in freedom. Too many laws also lead to the growth of government and the creation of agencies needed to interpret and enforce the laws. This too impinges on our freedom. And our laws should not contradict one another, but should reflect a continuity of purpose and result, one that supports the moral foundation of the republic. 

We have strayed far from this understanding of the law. At all levels of government our laws are too many, too complex, and too arbitrary.  Even more disturbing, the executive branch has circumvented the legislature by issuing a constant stream of executive orders which it enforces as if they were laws. And the judicial branch has evolved to function as a kind of super-legislature that can enact its own laws without any effective oversight.

Can we overcome these near-fatal faults and regain our freedom as citizens of this great republic? I'm not particularly optimistic, largely because of the sharp divisions that exist among the citizenry. Racial and ethnic divides, once thought to be lessening, have in recent years intensified. The people we elect to represent us show a remarkable disdain for the good of the people and focus instead on that which will aid their reelection. And as religion is increasingly forced from the public square, the nation seems to have lost its moral compass.  We murder the innocent and inconvenient and label the good as evil and the evil as good. 

Can all this be changed? Yes, it certainly can, but not by man's doing. It will take the movement of God, the Lord of History, to save us from ourselves. All we can do is stay faithful, never be fearful, and trust in God's mercy.

Pray for our nation and for those we have elected.

Election Reflection

Well, it's over...and I can't help but add a little I-told-you-so when I point back to my post of July 18 in which I predicted a Trump victory. There! Enough patting myself on the back. Anyway, it's a bit painful thanks to my slightly damaged rotator cuff.

I suppose the first question a lot of folks have been asking is, "How did all the smart people get it so wrong?" Actually, I truly believe they didn't. I believe that all those pollsters saw what was happening but either couldn't believe it, or believing it, tried to change it. In other words, they lied to us. They tried to show the nation that Hillary Clinton had such a lead that all those undecideds might as well stay home on election day or just climb aboard the coronation train and vote for Hillary. Abetting this strategy were the mainstreams who continued to portray Donald Trump as the incarnation of a being they don't believe in (Satan) and Hillary as the elect of another they reject (God). And like all those who lack faith, they are deathly afraid. And so, yes, I believe what we witnessed was -- drum roll -- a conspiracy!

Happy Hillary? Not!

Now that the election is over, those who opposed Trump, all those fearful ones, have initiated a new two-pronged strategy. Okay, it's not so new. It's been used by revolutionaries for centuries. The first thing that must be done is to completely ignore the results of the election. Instead, get the "people" -- the easily led, the useful idiots -- into the streets. Show the world how dissatisfied, how angry, how hurt everyone is. Let the protests grow and evolve into cries for Revolution! Burn and destroy, tear it all down, keep the nation's attention on the protests turned riots so they won't think about the real task facing America.

Hillary Voter Protests Turn to Riots

This, of course, will fail. There will be no revolution. (One reason: unlike the protestors and others on the left, the folks who voted for Donald Trump are the armed citizens. This is the primary reason we have avoided revolution since that messy affair with King George III.) Anyway, it wasn't just Donald Trump who was elected; it was a movement. And I'm pretty sure Trump realizes this. It was this movement that I'm convinced the pollsters and wonks finally recognized and simply could not deal with. Now that the election is over, they realize their only chance to salvage something is to co-opt Donald Trump. And this goal will form the second prong of their strategy.

From now until his inauguration in January we will hear nothing but calls to inclusiveness. We will be told that a divided nation demands a diverse administration, one that represents all the people, not just those uneducated white males who voted for Trump. (Actually, Trump got more of the Hispanic and Black vote than expected. He also got a majority of college-educated white males. And to the surprise of many Democrats, he received a majority of the Catholic vote. The complete demographic breakdown should be interesting.)

But Trump's opponents will be screaming for more than diversity. There will be more...much more. Because Trump has absolutely no experience in governance, they will tell us that he must mend fences with those in his own party who despise him and with the Democrats. He will need many of these wise men and women of the establishment to help him overcome his governmental naiveté and to guide him and his administration through the labyrinthine corridors of the federal government. As we heard often enough during the campaign: Build bridges, Mr. Trump, not walls.

And all those campaign promises? Really, Mr. Trump, you must now accept that most of them are unattainable, no more than useful bones to toss at the hungry masses, but not the sort of things you can actually accomplish. Compromise must be the watchword of the new administration if it hopes to be successful. Of course, our new president will succeed someone who refused to compromise with the opposition, and was praised for his intransigence by the same folks who will demand the opposite from Donald Trump.

We will hear all these things and much more from the not-so-loyal opposition, the media, the soon to be unemployed White House staffers, and from those the voters rejected. But I actually expect Donald Trump to ignore these calls to turn his back on those who elected him. He seems to be a man who, although willing to negotiate, also knows when he holds a winning hand. We shall see.

As a nation, we should be praying for God's continued help and thanking him for all He has given us.

We certainly live in interesting times. 

God's peace...